John Walke, Clean Air Director, Climate & Clean Energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, made this statement:

“This is an unconscionable rollback to serve the coal industry at the expense of all Americans, especially our children. It sabotages health standards that already are avoiding as many as 130,000 asthma attacks, 5,000 heart attacks and 11,000 premature deaths now, and every year the utility industry complies.

“And it says EPA's just fine with allowing brain poisons mercury and lead, and toxic carcinogens to fill our skies. That's absurd, it's dangerous and we'll fight to stop this rollback with every available tool.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC